The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

The picture book The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs is written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by award-winning illustrator Lane Smith. The target audience is ages 3-8 but ideally should be utilized in a second or third grade classroom.

-Rating: Five out of Five Stars *****

-Summary: This book is the story of the three little pigs but with a twist. It is told from the wolf’s point of view. Alexander T. Wolf tells his side of the story and why he did what he did throughout the story. It is a clever and funny twist to a classic fable.

I personally found this book hilarious and the pictures are really well done. It is a unique idea and it is the only book of its kind that I have seen. Not many authors redo classic tales through the perspective of a different character in the story. The illustrations were done with oil paints. They are very colorful and almost surreal looking. The characters have a distorted sense of proportion that adds to the humor of the story and the uniqueness of the illustrations.

Most children know the story of the three little pigs but this is told in a new and humorous way that would appeal to many people. This book can be incorporated into a unit that deals with perspective. Most children know the classic story of the three little pigs but this book is told from a different point of view. Students can understand that there are two sides to every story and that everyone should have a chance to explain him or herself. This can also be linked to bullying. Bullying is a big deal in school and this would be a fun way to teach a lesson about bullying versus sitting a class down and talking to them directly. Sometimes it’s hard for students to understand that what they are doing is hurting someone in a certain way, similar to the wolf and his point of view that he did not realize what he was doing was a bad idea.  Too young of an audience might not understand the connection and the point of view though. It is told in a nontraditional way and students could possibly be confused if they already know the classic version of the story.  This story should be used with an older audience suggested above so it can be used as a lesson and the students will understand the perspective of the book.